ClueBy
TodayArchiveWord list

Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
YesNo
↻ New worksheet

Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. field — farmland
  3. net — after costs
  4. net — in sport
  5. capital — money
  6. bass — the fish
  7. field — a subject
  8. field — for sport
  9. bass — low music
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. track — a song
  12. land — to come down
  13. mine — for digging
  14. net — for catching
  15. pass — a permit
  16. track — to keep track
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. capital — a city
  21. land — a country
  22. track — a path
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. bass — the instrument

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com